The Simple Art of Patience
by FrUkingWarriors
Summary: When new neighbors move into the house next door, Arthur's life is turned upside down. Adventures follow a simple outing that may change Arthur's and Francis's lives forever. Rated T just in case (and for language). Single parent!Arthur and single parent!Francis AU. FrUk. Duh.
1. Lunch

**Ch.1: Lunch**

Arthur bolted up at the sound of a car horn honking furiously outside. What the hell was someone doing, honking at such an early hour?

"Hey, Dad!" a familiar voice shouted. A blonde-haired, blue-eyed, mischievous twelve-year-old boy zoomed into Arthur's room, nearly bowling him over.

"Good morning, Peter," Arthur managed through a yawn. "How did you sleep?" Then, doing a double take, the Englishman added, "And why are you wearing that?" For his son was wearing a nice shirt and jeans, and his hair was combed off neatly to the side.

"What do you mean, 'good morning'? It's already"–He checked his wristwatch–"quarter to twelve!"

Arthur jumped up, cursing under his breath. "Don't ever repeat what I just said," Arthur reminded his son frantically as he threw off his shirt.

His alarm hadn't gone off. _Bloody fantastic. _He'd never hear the end of it.

"Dad, aren't we going to lunch with the new neighbors?" Peter commented.

Arthur stopped abruptly. His shirt was half-on, and he had barely put on his pants. He quickly tore off his work clothes and sighed in relief.

"I'll leave you to do that," Peter said, a grin on his face. Before allowing the child to leave, Arthur planted a kiss on his head.

As Arthur got ready, the honking outside intensified. He walked, pantsless, to the window and threw it open.

"I'm going, you git! Calm down!" he shouted before slamming back the window and returning to dressing himself.

_Honestly_, Arthur thought as he searched frantically for his shoes, _some people need to learn the simple art of patience_.

* * *

><p>Arthur walked outside, his hand on Peter's shoulder. He'd managed to tame his hair a bit, and that was all that it was going to get. Peter ran at the car.<p>

A tall man got out of the car, slamming the door behind him. "Ah, _bonjour, _Arthur!" He grinned and opened his arms wide. Arthur stopped in his tracks, simply grasping one of the Frenchman's outstretched hands and shaking it. "Francis," he acknowledged briefly. "So, er, shall we?" Arthur suggested.

"_Oui_." Francis got into the driver's seat of the vehicle.

"I brought Adrienne," Francis said abruptly as Arthur climbed into the passenger seat. "I hope you don't mind, _mon_ _ami_."

Arthur cracked a grin. "Not at all, Francis." Adrienne was Francis's daughter, a fine young lady who was about Peter's age. The two were seeming to get along, due to the amount of chatter in the backseat, but it was all tuned out. Arthur sighed and leaned back into the seat.

Trees zoomed by, little green blurs in Arthur's peripheral vision. He felt drowsiness engulfing him, little black spots forming on his vision...

Then Francis spoke.

"Arthur," the Frenchman cooed gently, "how do you like living here? I mean, what is there to do for fun?"

Arthur almost jumped out of his seat. "Well, I don't know. There's a lot to do, and, I mean..." He trailed off, lost a bit and confused at the question.

The awkwardness was broken when Francis parked the vehicle in front of a small diner that Arthur had always avoided. _God, no, not this place..._

He got off the car as slow as he could. He pushed the door open with as little force as possible, got out slowly but surely–

"Come on, Dad!" Peter screeched, and grabbed his father's arm. Peter pulled him out of the car. He staggered before straightening up, glaring briefly at Peter.

"Sorry," Peter whispered into his father's ear as they approached the diner.

_He's such a git,_ Arthur thought absentmindedly. But he knew he didn't believe that.

He looked up at Francis when he sighed. "Is something wrong?" Arthur asked.

"No, nothing," Francis insisted. But his eyes said otherwise, and Arthur wouldn't drop the subject.

"No, really, what's bothering you?" Arthur was filled with unusual concern. He felt odd. _There's no reason to be like this_, he told himself, but kept on being persistent.

"Ah, Arthur, it's a personal matter." He sat up, clearing his throat dismissively.

Adrienne glanced at Francis. "Well, you are obviously caught up about something, aren't you, _pére_?"

"No," Francis hissed, "I am nothing of the sort. Adrienne, I've told you not to stick your nose into other people's business. As for my problem, well, _c'est la vie_." He shrugged and hurriedly opened the menu.

"Pardon?" Arthur asked. _C'est la vie_. He'd heard that before.

Francis grinned. "It means 'that's life'. But it's meant to show acceptance, and that's not technically what I have for life." He shrugged, his smile fading, and went back to the menu.

Arthur looked up at Francis. He was a strange man, but he wasn't hard to like. Right then Arthur felt like kicking himself. _Calm down_, he told himself. _Calm the bloody hell down_.

* * *

><p><strong>A.N. <strong>

**Hello! This is my first attempt at a Hetalia story, so I hope you very much enjoy it. It's going to be (well, quite obviously) FrUk, which I ship very hardcore. ****_Very_****.**

**I'm going to try to update daily, but I'm not making ****_any_**** promises!**


	2. A First For Everything

**Ch.2: A First For Everything**

Francis glanced at his daughter as they walked through the school gates. He grinned sheepishly, reaching for her hand. She moved it away. "_Pére, _I'm_ twelve. _I don't need my 'daddy' chasing after me."

Francis's jaw dropped open. Adrienne had never resisted affection from her father before. Something must have been going on.

He watched carefully as Adrienne scanned the schoolyard, then broke into a run.

The he paused as he saw who Adrienne had run to. _Peter?_

The Frenchman found himself racing across the schoolyard as well, jacket flapping against him.

As he was running, he scanned the blurs until he collided with something–or, well, someone.

"Oh! Watch it, you–" Arthur began shouting, then did a double take. "Francis? What're you doing here?"

"Well, the same as you, I suppose," he suggested, then grinned.

Francis and Arthur locked eyes for a while before Arthur turned his gaze to Peter, who was in an obnoxious mood. "Dad! Dad! Daddy! Daddy! Father! Father! Arthur Kirk–"

"Yes, Peter," Arthur answered exasperatedly, and Peter started dragging him away.

Francis glanced over at Adrienne. She shrugged and followed after Arthur and Peter. Francis nodded and caught up to her.

"Adrienne... please... you have to... wait... ugh..." Francis was out of breath by the time he reached the staircase, and Adrienne's head poked out from behind the wall, ten steps up. She giggled and her footsteps were heard as she ran back upstairs. Francis groaned, and he hesitantly began walking up the stairs, gripping to the railing. _Damnit_, he thought as he fought for air at the top of the staircase.

Francis saw Arthur, red-faced and gasping for breath as though he had been laughing very hard. Francis raised an eyebrow in an almost playful challenge, and Arthur sighed.

"Have you ever been this surprised?" Arthur asked out of the blue.

"W-what?" Francis stuttered.

"I mean, that your daughter was going to school. Er, should I say, that you had to let go of her."

Francis felt his face getting hot. "N-no, and I'm not surprised now. What would make you think so?"

"Your reaction when Adrienne rejected your hand." Arthur shrugged and turned to Peter's teacher. The two began discussing grades, and that was a subject that bored Francis to no end. He looked around for Adrienne, but she was nowhere to be seen–

"_Pére!_"

She jumped on his back, laughing almost insanely. Then she let go, her face red and her blonde hair stuck to her face with sweat. "Where have you been?"

"Here," Francis stated simply. Then he looked Adrienne over and raised his eyebrow again. "And how about you? Have you gone swimming?" he asked, grinning.

"_No_," Adrienne said with emphasis, "I have been running around with some new friends."

"No more running around in that dress, _oui_? Tomorrow." Francis shook his head.

Adrienne let out a long, loud groan and sighed. "_Fine_. But tomorrow."

Francis nodded. He grinned, and Adrienne cracked a smile.

Adrienne turned around and began skipping to her classroom. Francis sighed, his heart a bit aching. Then he turned to see Arthur waving goodbye to Peter, who had a look of exasperation on his face. Peter finally wrenched his arm from Arthur's grip and ran into his classroom. Then Arthur turned, sighing sullenly.

Francis grinned a bit. "Turns out you're the one who is surprised, _mon ami_."

Arthur glared at him, then his expression softened. "Y-yeah. I guess so. I suppose I was wrong."

Francis let out a low chuckle. "Heh. Well, I guess there's a first for everything, isn't there?"

The Englishman laughed lightly, blinking. "Yes, I suppose there is." Then he turned and walked toward the stairs, a skip in his step. Francis grinned a bit.

_There really is a first for everything._

* * *

><p><strong>\\A.N.**

**Alright, I'm super sorry that this update has taken almost two weeks, or more. I don't know. **

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy this part! Next part is going to be adorable. I promise.**


	3. Tricks and Treats

**Ch.3: Tricks and Treats**

"...and no one has ever seen him since," finished a blonde-haired little wizard.

Arthur shook his head, laughing a bit. "Keep working on it, Peter," he advised playfully before he turned around and opening the door to the first round of trick-or-treaters.

Adrienne and Francis stood at his door. Adrienne, her yellowish hair in a bun, was wearing a black-and-yellow-striped sweater, leggings of the same pattern, and black flats, along with a pair of yellow, circular wings. She was adjusting a pair of antennae on a headband, and then she grinned. "_Bonjour_, Arthur!" Then she stood on the tips of her toes and looked over Arthur's shoulders. "Ah, is Peter home?"

"Yes," Arthur said with a grin. "You can come in, if you'd like."

"_Oui_," she said, and jumped up, squeezing past Arthur. He heard Peter's footsteps and, imagining his Ravenclaw robes, gave a little chuckle. Then he turned to Francis, who was grinning.

"This year, Adrienne wants to go to that haunted house thing, that one not to far from here."

Arthur froze up. Then he grinned. "Ah, of course. Well, have fun!" He began closing the door.

"No, no," Francis said, pushing the door open. "Adrienne would like to invite you and Peter to accompany us."

Arthur breathed in. "Well, if you'd like to invite us, I guess I'd like to go." He sighed and nodded to a group of children who were walking up his driveway.

Adrienne and Peter zoomed out of the house at that moment. Peter was chasing Adrienne, who had swiped his hat. "Give it baaack!"

Francis grinned at the costumes and moved out of the way. Arthur handed out candy to the children, who shouted a simultaneous "thank you" at the urging of their parents. Then they ran across the street.

"Are we going to go?" Francis asked as he watched Adrienne and Peter run around Arthur's spacious lawn.

"I suppose," he said reluctantly, walking outside into the chilly, late-October air. He shuddered under his thin coat. Peter ran up to him.

"Are we going to the Williams' haunted house?" he asked, jumping up and down.

"Who?" Arthur asked, and Francis nudged him with his elbow, motioning to a dark house a few doors down.

"Oh. Them." They were quiet neighbors, never disturbed him. He thought he'd actually only ever seen the man once. Matthew?

A young, wheat-haired man with glasses stood to greet them. He had on a zombie costume, complete with the ripped clothes and flesh.

"Welcome," he groaned in a crude impression of a zombie-like voice.

"Matthew!" Francis greeted, a grin on his face. "_Comment allez-vous_?"

"_Bon_," the zombie responded, grinning a bit through the makeup. Then he motioned them inside before turning to greet another round of haunted-house-goers.

Arthur felt claustrophobic and, inevitably, scared out of his skin. It was quiet and the only light was a blacklight hanging from the ceiling. Adrienne must have triggered something, for she let out a shriek. Peter scooted closer to his father, and Arthur gripped his shoulder tightly.

A ripped up, dirtied blanked covered any view of the next area. Arthur hesitated, and Francis pushed him on. "Get along, _bébé_," he teased, and Arthur narrowed his eyes.

Arthur stumbled into the next area. The light above them was flickering. Peter shuddered and Arthur gripped him tighter, but more out of his own fear than of his son's. Adrienne let out a giggle. "Scared?" she asked.

"_No_," Peter said defensively, "just a bit... startled." He made a face and wriggled his father's hand off his shoulder. Arthur raised his eyebrows. _Come back..._

He realized those weren't his thoughts. A voice had sounded next to him. _"Come back... Come back..." _Arthur felt the urge to scream.

Crude makeup and a paint-enhanced smile made clowns frightening to begin with. But God, if he'd ever seen anything scarier, he would have dropped dead then. They had literally made it terrifying.

He bit his lip in a horrible attempt to keep himself from yelling at the top of his lungs. He wanted to get out. He was petrified. He couldn't just say that. But he wanted to.

Something popped out from behind a curtain in a bathroom with an abandoned amusement park (?) restroom theme. Arthur didn't have his eyes open long enough to see what. He shrieked and reached for the person whose hand was closest to the left of him.

Then he opened his eyes. Whatever it was, it was gone. He looked to his left and drew back.

"It's alright," Francis comforted in almost a mocking tone. Then Arthur grinned a bit, his expression softening, and he reached for Francis's hand again.

* * *

><p><strong>A.N.\\**

**Happy Halloween, readers! I hope you're enjoying my story so far. Much more to come!**

**Have a Happy FrUking Halloween!**

**-FW**


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